


Curse of the Moon

by Sportscandycollective



Series: The Moon's Children [2]
Category: LazyTown
Genre: Aftermath, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Blood, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Light Angst, Sequel, Sleep Deprivation, Transformation, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-24 18:38:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14959976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sportscandycollective/pseuds/Sportscandycollective
Summary: The sequel to "Mark of the Moon".A week after Sportacus's initial werewolf rampage was stopped, things have started to quiet down once more. Now, however, the townsfolk have to deal with the aftermath, as well as the unsavory possibility that things aren't over quite yet.





	1. Chapter 1

A truck rolled past down the road, passing by the four kids sitting on the curb of the sidewalk, watching all the work being down on the sports park.

Men in orange, fluorescent vests carried wheelbarrows full of bricks, dirt, and various shrubbery and trees around the corner while others carried various gardening and masonry tools. Three men worked steadily at the brick wall, filling in the breaks with new bricks and cement. The din of engines humming and brake lights beeping filled the air, breaking through the usual, serene atmosphere of birds chirping and leaves rustling.  
Two workers passed behind the kids, chattering to each other, each word punctuated with the smacking of gum or the puff of a cigarette. Ziggy screwed up his nose and coughed at the stench.  
“Man, it sucks we can’t play in the sports park.” Trixie complained, rolling a rubber ball back and forth under her palm.  
Pixel sighed and peered over at the workers.  
“Well, supposedly according to the mayor, the park will be ready again in a few weeks. Until then though…” He said disappointedly.  
Stingy petted Piggy and perched his face against his hand.  
“Can’t do much until then, huh?” He said.  
Pixel shook his head.  
“I mean, I guess it’ll be nice to take it easy. It’s been a bit crazy lately, after all.” Trixie said reluctantly with a shrug.  
“Would be nice for things to go back to normal though! Can’t even play our usual games, and Stephanie’s not even here.” Pouted Stingy.  
“Yeah, but she’s at the doctor’s.” Trixie said.  
“She’s at a _therapist_.” Corrected Pixel.  
“Isn’t that the same thing?” asked Trixie.  
“Sort of. Ms. Busybody said it’s like a doctor, but for your feelings and mind instead.” Pixel explained. “You apparently just go in and talk about how you’ve been feeling lately, and then the therapist tells you what to do.”  
“That’s it?” asked Stingy, furrowing his brow.  
“She said it’s ‘therapeutic’, so it must be helpful.” Pixel said with a shrug.

The kids looked across the street, watching as Ms. Busybody and Mayor Meanswell distracted themselves with fixing up Ms. Busybody’s lawn. Her front window had already been replaced, but there was plenty of glass shards and pieces of broken wood littering her lawn. Mayor Meanswell was hunched over, tossing scraps into a large, black plastic bag. Ms. Busybody was standing back, surveying the damage. Some glass still sat in a pile on the street, the remnants of the flipped car’s window.  
The kids felt distinctly uneasy gazing upon the evidence.  
“Guys…I’m a bit worried about Sportacus.” Ziggy finally said.  
The three turned towards the youngest boy.  
“What? Why?” asked Stingy.  
Ziggy curled his knees closer to his chest.  
“I just…I think there’s still something wrong with him.” He said quietly.  
“Like what? Robbie said it himself: Sportacus is cured, so he won’t turn into a werewolf anymore.” Pixel stated.  
“I _know_ , but,” Ziggy said, playing with a pebble on the sidewalk. “haven’t you guys noticed how off he’s been acting lately? He just…He doesn’t…he doesn’t seem as happy as he usually is.”  
“Well, not to be mean Ziggy, but it makes sense.” Stingy said sadly. “I mean, he almost killed a lot of people that night, and Robbie and Stephanie just barely stopped him. I’m pretty sure he’s aware of that. And knowing Sportacus…”  
Trixie glanced up towards the airship.  
“Oh geez, that’s gotta be eating him up. What should we do?” She asked.  
“What _can_ we do? I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t see much of Sportacus anymore. It’s like he’ll come down for emergencies, and as soon as everyone’s okay, he vanishes back up into his airship. He doesn’t even really talk to anyone anymore.” Pixel said with a serious gaze.  
The others nodded. They’d all noticed that too, but were at a loss of what to do.  
“…Well, we could send him some cards? Let him know that we’re worried about him?” Ziggy suggested.  
Trixie nodded, a smile forming on her face.  
“Hey, yeah! That’s a great idea! That oughta cheer him right up!” She said, leaping to her feet.  
“Plus it’s better than sitting here all day staring at the ground.” Mumbled Stingy, standing up.  
“Oh! I got colored paper!” Ziggy said.  
“And I got some scented markers! Sportscandy scented ones!” Pixel said excitedly.  
“And I guess I could offer some of _my_ glitter glue!” Stingy said.  
“Then what’re we waiting for? Let’s make those cards!” Trixie said.

The four dashed off towards her house, chattering to each other about their design ideas and messages for the hero.

\--

“So, Stephanie, tell me about the quality of your sleep lately. Anything notable you wish to share with me?”

Stephanie shifted uncomfortably on the plainly colored couch, barely glancing up at the woman sitting across from her. She, instead, chose to look up at the walls, looking up once more at the faux inspirational posters that littered the walls. Pictures of mountain peaks and rivers running through valleys, or pictures of kittens and puppies, all with captions like “reach your goals” and “believe in yourself”. Finally, she let her eyes settle back on the therapist, a woman in her mid-30’s with strawberry blonde hair tied back in a braid.  
“It’s okay, Stephanie. Take your time.” The therapist said calmly.  
Stephanie sucked in a breath and sighed, resting her forearms on top of her lap.  
“I’ve been sleeping…a little better.” She said finally.  
The therapist nodded and jotted down a quick note.  
“Any notable dreams?” she asked.  
Stephanie froze, her eyes darting down to the ground. Instantly, she shook her head.  
The therapist laid down her clipboard.  
“Stephanie, if you want help feeling better, you’ll need to be honest with how you’re feeling. I know it isn’t easy, but trust me, you’ll be thankful later.” She said patiently.  
Stephanie’s eyes glanced back up.  
“Now, have you had any dreams lately?” The therapist repeated.  
Stephanie closed her eyes, and gave a slow nod.  
“Yes…” she said near silently.  
The therapist leaned forward slightly.  
“Would you be willing to share it with me?”  
Stephanie squeezed her eyes shut, her hands rubbing her upper arms in a soothing motion.  
“It’s okay, Stephanie.”  
“I saw _him_ again…” Stephanie finally blurted.

The therapist sat back once more.  
“You saw Sportacus?” She asked.  
Stephanie looked at the therapist sadly.  
“No.”  
“Then what did you see?”  
Stephanie looked away.  
“I saw the wolf.”  
“Sportacus.”  
“ **No.** ” Stephanie said emphatically. “Sportacus is _not_ the wolf. I didn’t have a nightmare about Sportacus. I had a nightmare about the wolf. It was chasing me and bit my leg off.”  
The therapist looked at Stephanie sadly.  
“Have you had this nightmare any other time this week?” she asked.  
Stephanie gave the therapist a sad look back, before she nodded.  
“How many times?”  
“A few.” Stephanie answered.  
The therapist nodded.  
“So, if my notes are right, you’ve been having that particular nightmare for over a week.” Said the therapist.  
“More than that. They were happening when…when _the wolf_ was around too.” Stephanie said.  
The therapist jotted more notes down.  
“Would you say – “  
“I don’t want to be scared of him.”

A pause.

“Scared of…Sportacus?” asked the therapist.  
Stephanie nodded.  
“I still…even after everything. I know that Sportacus is cured, but…I still get nervous around him. I know he won’t transform, but I still sort of worry. I still feel like he could.” Stephanie said in a hushed tone.  
The therapist listened carefully.  
“I don’t want to be afraid of my friend. He’s harmless, but after what happened…” Stephanie said, her eyes watering.  
“Stephanie.” Said the therapist, leaning forward.  
Stephanie looked up and at the therapist.  
“What happened to you was, and I won’t mince words right now, traumatic. You need time to work through everything that happened. You can’t expect things to shift back to normal immediately, even if everything has technically gone back to normal.”  
“But I don’t like feeling this way.”  
“I know. But that’s why you’re here, right? I can help you work through your feelings, so that hopefully this process goes as smoothly as possible.” Said the therapist with a smile.  
Stephanie didn’t smile back.  
“I think, to help you get started, I need you to not mince words as well. And to be flatly honest about what happened.” Said the therapist. “If you hold back on what you truthfully feel, logical or not, it will be much harder for you to move forward. As soon as you fully acknowledge how you feel, we can work on solving specific fears and traumas.”  
The therapist glanced up at the clock.  
“And I’m afraid that’ll have to wait until next week. That’s your homework, okay? Really think through everything. Perhaps write it down. Be honest with what your fears are.” Said the therapist, standing up.  
Stephanie bit her lip and gave a curt nod, standing as well.  
“Things are going to be okay, Stephanie. You’re doing very well already.” Said the therapist encouragingly.  
“Thank you.” Said Stephanie quietly.

As soon as she’d left the therapist’s office, Stephanie felt her tablet ring. Pulling it out, she looked through her messages, finding a new one from Pixel.

_P_ : Hey Steph! At Trixie’s house, decorating cards. U in?

Stephanie thought for a moment, before she responded.

_S_ : B right there.

Then Stephanie took off towards her friend’s house, putting aside her thoughts and concerns for the time being.

\--

He’d been working for days without sleep, but it was necessary.

Robbie knew it was necessary.

As he flipped through yet another tome on mythology and folklore, he could feel a distinct sheen of sweat across his body, a by product of using caffeine to sustain his wakefulness.  
He felt giddy, yet also ready to cry. But he had to keep going, even as his mind fell deeper into a soupy fog.  
He threw aside another book, not caring where it landed. It fell to the ground with a mighty crash, one that sent Robbie jumping off his chair in fright.  
Collecting himself, Robbie frowned and shakily sat back in his chair, pulling another book from the pile.  
He thumbed through the pages, looking for anything about werewolves, herbs or, most specifically, herb spells and werewolves.  
His search so far had come up fruitless, but he had to keep trying.

He had to keep trying because, deep down, he knew that Sportacus’s lycanthropy was very much still active. Thus, Sportacus was still liable to transform.

And while things had been quiet for almost a week, Robbie couldn’t chance it by taking his time.  
He had to find a cure, if one existed, and he needed to find it fast.  
He couldn’t let Sportacus transform again and hurt more people. He couldn’t. His conscience and his severe guilt wouldn’t let it happen.  
He sucked down another gulp of coffee, cringing at the stinging heat of the liquid.  
He skimmed through yet another chapter before throwing the latest book to the ground. Nothing in that one.  
His notes were a mess of chicken scratch and formulas, all hidden underneath scrap metal and wires and buttons.  
He blinked, feeling a wave of sleepiness pass over him. He nearly gave in, nearly stumbled off his chair and back towards his fuzzy, orange chair. Perhaps some sleep would help take the edge off his weariness and help him spring back at full power.  
But then again, every time he closed his eyes, he wouldn’t see darkness.  
He’d see teeth, shining silver teeth enclosed in a long maw paired with yellow eyes.  
Claws that snatch, and he’d see sleek black fur.  
And he’d feel said claws and teeth sinking down into his neck and chest.  
…He took another swig of coffee, slamming down the mug unintentionally with a trembling hold.

He had to keep going.

He barely comprehended that his speakers dropped down as he pulled another book from the pile. The speakers began to broadcast the sounds of the outside world, breaking through the mechanical hum that usually filled his lair.  
“Alright, does everyone have their cards inside? Everyone ready?”  
“I think Sportacus will like _my_ card best, because I covered it in the most amount of glitter compared to everyone else!”  
“That’s because you hogged the glitter like usual, Stingy!”  
“Guys, come on! I’m pretty sure Sportacus will like _all_ of our cards! Besides, the goal is just to cheer him up, right?”  
“Right!”  
“Stephanie, are you ready to pull the lever?”  
“…”  
“Stephanie?”  
“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m ready.”

A pressurized _whoosh_ rang through the speakers, followed by a collection of chatter, before the speakers finally fell silent.

\--

The sun had set. Night had eclipsed the earth, and soon the moon would be making its crawl across the sky and up to its peak.

It was a time Sportacus had come to dread, but tonight he was ready.  
He hoped.  
Sportacus sat at the edge of his bed, eyes fixated on the window at the front of his ship. The sky completed its transition, the last of the robin’s egg blue being swallowed by twilight, the fluffy clouds turning dark gray with hints of stark blue. Skirting above the horizon, he could see the sliver of the pale moon, beginning its climb.  
His breath hitched in his throat, fists gripping handfuls of his pant legs.  
Each breath grew more shallow and rapid. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.  
“ _Sportacus, do you have the restraint spell ready?_ ” asked his airship.  
Sportacus looked up at the ceiling and gave a short nod.  
“ _Then it is recommended that you cast it now. The moon will reach its peak in one hour, and it would be best for the spell to be in full effect before then._ ” Noted the airship.  
Sportacus glanced to his side and picked the piece of paper off his bed. He unfurled the yellowed parchment, scanning the scribbled ancient Elven and diagrams that littered the paper. He furrowed his brow, studying the incantation closely, before giving a nod and setting it to the side.

At first, controlling the transformations had been relatively simple. Sportacus originally would direct the airship to steer away from the glow of the moon. As soon as his body was away from its light, the pain and the changes would still, and Sportacus could rest easy. Cloudy nights made that task even easier, and the airship wouldn’t have to change course at all.  
That was how it had been. For four days.  
But then, two days ago, it got worse.  
Even if he was shielded from the moon’s light, Sportacus could feel the transformation power on, growing more agonizing and far stronger even away from the moon. The first night of it, Sportacus powered through and fought it the entire night, but was left spent and exhausted, resulting in him sleeping through the entire morning.  
The worried and distressed letters he received from the mayor and kids after that only cemented the fact that Sportacus had to look for a better means to control and hinder his transformations.  
He spent the next day studying through his ancient tomes and spell books, looking for anything he could possibly use to control himself.  
He found the one, the one he planned to use tonight.  
It claimed to force magical rhythms back to a steady rate, withholding spikes of magic and their natural rhythms to a steady and unvarying hum.  
It’s a state that can’t be maintained over long term, but for nights it should work.  
If it works.  
He hadn’t gotten a chance to cast it the previous night and, due to his exhaustion, he let the transformation take its course, turning him into the savage and bloodthirsty animal he loathed and feared.  
Luckily, the airship seemed ready for  him and set itself to maximum lockdown, preventing Sportacus from escaping the ship in his wolf form. Because of that, Sportacus spent his night transformed but far away from the townsfolk.  
However, his transformation was far from damage free. The interior of his airship was a disaster zone, with claw marks littering his usually pristine walls, grooves worn into the wood flooring, and cracks broken into the window from when he’d thrown himself against it to break through.  
The ship maintained itself during Sportacus’s rampage, but he knew it wouldn’t withstand too many more.

“ _Sportacus, are you ready?_ ”  
Sportacus looked up at the ceiling and nodded.  
“I’m ready. Ship, be prepared in case the spell fails. I’ll try my best to control my transformation, but – “  
“ _Maximum security defense is prepared in advance. If you attempt to break through the glass again, coordinates are set for the mountains, so you’ll be far away from the town_.”  
Sportacus sighed.  
“Thank you, ship.” He said quietly, as he cracked his knuckles.  
Sportacus stood to his feet and flexed his fingers, closing his eyes to focus on his magic, laying dormant and long unused within his veins.  
“Lay still, hold fast. Keep steady, with power vast. Hold the rhythm close and tight. Steady until the end of night.” Sportacus chanted in an ancient tongue as he thinly traced circles across his left forearm. The sigil glowed a faint blue that glimmered in the darkened airship. It hummed and whistled, bringing forth a brief flash before long, silk-like threads wove and looped themselves up and down Sportacus’s arms. They trailed up his body, like his own veins, crossing over every inch of his body and sending an uncomfortably cold shiver down his spine. As they traced over his face, Sportacus forced his mouth shut and had to remind himself to breathe as the spell finally locked itself.  
He exhaled, and stretched out his arms.  
“The spell’s completed.” Sportacus said, out of breath.  
“ _Moon is set to reach its peak in 30 minutes_.” Reported the ship.  
Sportacus nodded, then sat back on the edge of his bed.

At first, things were still. Sportacus could feel the spell’s trails flicker and flare every few seconds, fighting off the influence of the lycanthropy and the moon’s light. Sportacus felt a growl rumble in his throat, but he swallowed it down. Other than that, for fifteen minutes, Sportacus felt little out of the ordinary. As he waited, he looked through the cards the children had sent him, a small smile appearing on his face as he read their messages and a chuckle escaping him as he glanced at the glittered-caked card. Stingy’s, of course.  
Those kids. Sometimes he wondered what he’d do without them.  
Then, like a brick wall, he was hit with a wave of excruciating pain, so intolerable that he folded in on himself and collapsed onto the floor.  
He let out a ghastly shriek, digging his hands into his scalp as he felt the spell struggle, hiss, and glow as the first rays of moonlight crossed the ship’s deck.  
Like being struck with boiling water and spikes of ice, that would be how Sportacus would describe the feeling. But most notable was the inner burning, like a hearth had been stoked deep within his chest.  
It burned hotter with each passing second, leaving Sportacus gasping and sweating on the floor, one of his hands leaving his scalp to claw pitifully at the floorboards.  
“ _Sportacus, do you require assistance? Do you need me to deploy defen –_ “  
“NO!” Sportacus roared, his voice dropping an octave. His shout died out into a strangled whimper as another wave of pain ripped through his body, his feet kicking and digging into the floor. He could feel the influence of the lycanthropy thrash within him, fighting and tearing at the spell he’d woven, threatening to snap the one protective measure he’d set in place and send him falling once more into the feral mindset and body.  
Then, the pain changed. The burning was still there, ever hot, but there was something new and all together worse emerging.  
It felt like crawling and skittering underneath his skin, like thousands of ants crawling within him and over his bones and spine.  
Sportacus let out a shuddered cry, slamming his back against the floor and arching up, sweat pouring form his forehead.  
“ _Moon’s peak due in five minutes_.” Reported the ship.  
Gods, had it only been ten minutes? It felt like years to Sportacus.

The skittering and itching grew more intense, and Sportacus bellowed another strangled, half man half animal cry into the darkness of his ship.  
He had to make it stop, no matter what.  
Mindlessly, he sank his teeth down onto his bicep, the spot where the itching and crawling seemed worse, bringing him relief along with the slight pain for a few seconds until the skittering collected elsewhere.  
With each new spot of skittering, Sportacus bit or scratched, sinking teeth and nail into his skin wherever the pain seemed to intensify. The spell around him crackled and protested at his actions, but Sportacus continued, even as he felt each bite and scratch grow more painful and leave more marks.  
“ _Moon’s peak due in two minutes._ ”  
The pain and itching intensified, and Sportacus once again sank his teeth back into his forearm, now a mess of shallow and deep bite marks. He couldn’t stop a growl from rumbling in the back of his throat as he sank his teeth down once more, a faint copper taste following the bite. He itched at a spot near his spine, ignoring the stinging that followed and the sounds of fabric ripping.  
His pupils dilated, and he threw his head back as the ship was flooded with light. Pale, silver light. The moon’s light.  
The peak had been reached and oh gods it was _agony_.  
His head felt as if it were splitting apart, and his spine like it was on fire. Sportacus laid on the floor, yelling wordless cries and screeches towards the moon and the sky, assuming an animalistic stance by instinct. He clawed at the floorboards, feeling his fingernails shift and grow, but never long enough to be claws. The pain was there, but the change wasn’t.  
Huffing angrily, Sportacus threw himself forward, only to be stopped as a barrier rose in front of him.  
“ _Sportacus! Control yourself!_ ” The ship reminded him.  
Sportacus let out a shuddered gasp, a low growl escaping his lips. Tears rolled down his face as he backed up against his bed, burying his face in his hands. With each wave of pain and burning, Sportacus would run around and do whatever he could do to distract himself, but he didn’t go as animalistic as he had that moment.

Hours passed. Horrible, agonizing hours.  
But finally, the moon’s glow waned, and the sky became tinted with a gradient of blue. Across the horizon, the light of the sun peeked past to prepare to warm the earth.  
Sportacus could feel the pain ebb away, slowly slipping from his body as the spell failed with it. He looked down at his hands, seeing the nails shift back to their normal lengths. The scant hair that grew on his arms receded back to their usual appearance and color. The change was fading.  
But with it, Sportacus knew he hadn’t gotten away unscathed. His arms, legs, and torso were littered with shallow marks and scratches, a few of which bled trails of crimson down his body. Holes were torn into his vest and shirt, and his hair was plastered against his forehead like a damp mop.  
He attempted to stand, but he immediately began to teeter. So, he slumped back again against his bed, breathing heavily.  
“ _The night is past, Sportacus. Security protocol downgrading to normal. Are you feeling okay? Was the spell successful?_ ” asked the ship.  
Sportacus could barely keep his eyes open as he felt around his body, looking for any leftovers from his transformation. He came up clean until he reached his teeth, and felt the still very long and sharp canines that remained.  
He sighed.  
“Not completely.” He mumbled tiredly.  
The ship hummed in response.  
“ _I will field all correspondence for the next few hours, in order to provide you a resting period_.”  
“Thank you.” Was all Sportacus could say, before he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No biggie that I didn't write an official follow-up to "Mark of the Moon" until over a year later, right? No biggie that I kept that cliffhanger a cliffhanger for a whole year, right?
> 
> What's with all the pitchforks?
> 
> In all seriousness, I apologize that it took me so long to get to this follow-up. As you can tell, this one will be a ton shorter than the first story because this is sort of a transitional story. I'm planning to have a third story as the end to this series that will be the longest of them and the most, um, interesting? I don't have the right word right now. Still, I hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

“HELP! HELP!” cried Ziggy.

“See, I told you that that tree wasn’t safe for climbing.” Stingy said, his nose upturned.  
Trixie shot him a glare.  
“Who cares? Ziggy’s stuck up there and we have to get him down!” Trixie said angrily.  
“Ziggy, can you jump down?” asked Pixel.  
Ziggy rapidly shook his head.  
“N-No! It’s too high up! I’d break something!” whined Ziggy.  
Pixel looked back at his friend, biting his lip thoughtfully.  
“Guys, I don’t know what to do. Sportacus isn’t here yet, so I think we’re on our own.” He said.  
“Yeah, where _is_ Sportacus? He’s never late for an emergency!” Stingy noted.  
“Well, whatever reason, we have to do something! We need to get something to cushion his fall!” said Trixie, turning to Pixel.  
“Um, I’ve got a parachute at home! Maybe we can catch him with that?”  
“That could work, but grab some pillows too!” Trixie said.  
Pixel nodded and ran off.  
Trixie turned to Stingy.  
“Come on, Stingy! Grab all your pillows too!” she said.  
“And get them _dirty_? You must be joking!” Stingy said in disgust.  
“Stingy!” Trixie said in annoyance, glaring at her friend.  
“Eep! I’m off!” squeaked Stingy, as he ran towards his house.  
Trixie looked back up towards her friend.  
“Ziggy! Hang on! We’re getting some soft things for you to fall on!” She shouted.  
Ziggy whimpered and clung closer to the tree.

As soon as Trixie said that, she heard feet meeting pavement in a rhythmic fashion. Turning, she stepped back as Sportacus arrived to the scene.  
“Sportacus! You made it!” Trixie said in surprise.  
“Sportacus! Help!” shouted Ziggy.  
The hero didn’t say anything as he leapt up the tree, grabbing onto the branch directly underneath the one Ziggy was stuck on, lifting himself upwards. He clambered up the tree, quickly reaching and snatching Ziggy into his arms, before dropping down to a slightly less than graceful landing, his balance teetering.  
“Sportacus! Oh, thank you! You saved me! Heh, I was so worried I’d be stuck for – “Ziggy started with his usual smile, before he stopped.  
It was at that moment that he’d finally gotten a good look at the hero, and just how horrible he looked that day. Beyond the blatantly obvious dark circles bordering his eyes, Ziggy noticed how pale Sportacus looked, and how distant his gaze was, even as he looked and smiled at him. The hero was only partially there, that was evident. Wherever else he was mentally was taking up the majority of his energy.  
Ziggy’s gaze trailed down, and he soon noticed the rows of gauze and bandages that littered Sportacus’s arms, forming an almost extension to his usual gauntlets. Despite how fresh the coverings looked, Ziggy could see that some of the bandages were already stained with blood, something that made him shiver.  
“S-Sportacus? What happened?” He asked quietly, looking fearfully at the hero.  
Sportacus’s smile vanished, and he looked guiltily at the boy before he turned to the other children, who had just run up to meet with him.  
“Sportacus! You saved him just in time!” Pixel said.  
“Yeah, but what took you so long? And…are you okay?” asked Stingy, his once strong frown fading once he got a good look at Sportacus.  
“You’re covered in bandages.” Said Trixie uneasily.

Sportacus looked nervously at the group, seeing their expectant and worried looks.  
“Well, kids I…I…” He said, thinking feverishly on what to do.  
He forced a weak smile.  
“…it’s nothing to worry about! I just had an emergency I was called to last night in a different town, and it was a bit messier than expected. That’s why I’m so tired and why I have all these bandages. I’m sorry, it must’ve spooked you all!”  
The kids looked at each other dubiously.  
“An emergency? Must’ve been pretty bad if you’re all bandaged up like that.” Asked Pixel.  
Sportacus’s lips thinned and he swallowed a thick breath.  
“It was.” He said, feeling sick as he continued to spin his lies. “Um, just had to help with a, uh, sports emergency.”  
“In the middle of the night?” asked Stingy suspiciously.  
“Yes.” Sportacus said quickly, looking about uneasily for an exit or distraction.  
“Sportacus, really, is everything okay? You can tell us, we’re your friends!” said Ziggy encouragingly.  
Sportacus looked down at the youngest boy, feeling his heart melt at his sincerity, yet ache at his hesitancy to tell the youth and scare him out of his mind.  
“I’m, um…” Sportacus started, biting his lip, thinking worriedly.  
He paused, then sighed.  
“I’m just tired, Ziggy. I had a long night last night, so I’m a little out of it. I’m sorry I was late helping you out of the tree.”

The kids looked at each other with unconvinced expressions, though their expressions were more than slightly tinted by concern. Before any of the group could ask the questions they had on their minds, Sportacus’s crystal began to flash and beep.  
“Someone’s in trouble!” Sportacus said, his attention snapping to the row of houses. “It’s Ms. Busybody!”  
He looked back at the kids with a tired smile.  
“I’ll see you all later! Bye!” He said with a forced cheeriness as he leapt and flipped away.

The kids waved and watched Sportacus leave before they went on their way, their brows still furrowed with worry.

\--

The guilt weighed ever heavier in Sportacus’s mind and heart as he left to attend to the latest emergency.

He so badly wanted to tell the kids the truth about what he’d been dealing with for the last week, but he also didn’t want to scare them.

The kids had been shaken up enough by his transformations over the last few weeks and had just now started getting back to their usual routines after he was “cured”.

He didn’t want to snatch away that peace, he really didn’t.

But he also hated lying, and the feeling curdled in his stomach as he flipped along.

He stopped for a moment, taking the time to still his dizzy mind. The flips were not a great idea after losing a whole night of sleep.

He looked back and considered approaching the kids and telling them the truth, about how the transformations were still happening, and how everyone (including himself) was in terrible danger still, and how he was barely able to keep himself under control.

He wanted to say that, but once more, he so badly didn’t want to scare the children.

“ _I’ll just keep trying. Who knows? Maybe I’ll figure out a way to control these transformations beforehand, so the kids won’t even have to know._ ” He thought to himself hopefully.

He tried to ignore the wriggling doubt in the back of his mind as he jogged towards Ms. Busybody’s house.

\--

“I’m more convinced then ever, guys; something is _seriously_ wrong with Sportacus.” Said Trixie, her arms crossed.

Pixel looked over.  
“But he said he was fine.”  
“And you actually believed him? He was clearly lying. He used that stupid tone that all adults use with kids when they aren’t comfortable talking to them about what’s actually going on.” Trixie said bitterly.  
“Well, what do you think then?” asked Stingy.  
Trixie’s expression shifted, a nervous look crossing her face.  
“I think, as much as I don’t want to, that that ‘cure’ Robbie came up with wasn’t as strong as he said it was.” She said quietly.  
Ziggy gasped.  
“You mean that Sportacus is _still_ a werewolf??” He asked fearfully.  
Trixie nodded.  
“Oh c-come on, Trixie, you heard Robbie! He said that antidote completely removed the animalistic energy in Sportacus’s body. T-There’s no way he’s still a werewolf.” Said Stingy.  
“Then what other answers do you have? The bandages on his arms, how tired he looked, how much he was lying: they all point to him being a werewolf!” Trixie snapped.  
“I-I don’t know! I just don’t want to think that he’s still that…that _thing_!” Stingy said anxiously. “You all saw what he did to the park, to the town, to our friends! When he was that wolf, he was a _monster_! So, no, I don’t want to even consider thinking that there’s any chance he’s still that horrible beast!”

The group stopped as Stingy panted, tears rolling down his face as he caught his breath.  
Trixie looked at him sympathetically as she offered him a tissue from her pocket.  
“I know, Stingy. I don’t want to think about it either. I don’t want to have to consider it as an option, but we have to. Nothing else would make sense.” She said.  
Stingy nodded and sniffed, dabbing away the tears.  
“I know. I’m just scared.”  
“We all are.” Admitted Ziggy. “I mean, if he is still a werewolf, is there another cure out there? Is there anyway the werewolf gunk can be removed from him?”  
“Not as far as I know.” Said Pixel sadly.  
Trixie thought for a moment, taking several seconds before snapping her fingers.  
“There’s someone who might know. We could talk to Robbie!” She said.  
“Would Robbie even _talk_ to us? I know he was kind of friendly after Sportacus was first cured, but I haven’t seen him since they left the hospital.” Pixel said.  
“Good point.” Said Trixie with a sighed.  
“I know! We could ask Stephanie to talk to him! He’ll definitely talk to her!” Ziggy suggested.  
“You really think she has a better chance of reaching him?” Stingy asked.  
“They fought a werewolf together; I don’t think there’s much else that’d make people friends!” Ziggy said with a grin.  
“Talking is a good start.” Pixel mused with a smirk.  
“Ziggy does have a point though. Let’s find Stephanie. She’s probably at the doctor’s getting her leg checked. Once she’s out, we’ll go ahead and talk to her!”

The kids high-fived each other and started their way towards the doctor’s office.

\--

Stephanie waved to her doctor as she left his office, walking along slowly, a limp still present in her gait.

She sighed and thought over her appointment.  
Luckily, her doctor said she was healing up nicely, and that she could start physical therapy by the next week.  
“ _And then hopefully I can get back to dancing. That’ll help me feel a bit more normal._ ” She thought to herself, giving a small smile.  
She cringed as her leg buckled, barely stabilizing herself on the wall. A nurse who was walking past froze, her arms outstretched and ready to help Stephanie.  
“I’m okay. Thank you.” Stephanie said, smiling weakly.  
The nurse nodded and, slowly, started to walk away once more.  
Once the nurse was out of sight, Stephanie’s smile vanished and she brought herself back upright.  
“I guess I shouldn’t be hoping for _too_ quick of a recovery.” She said quietly and sadly, holding onto the wall as she made her way down the hallway.

Stephanie left the doctor’s office and took a breath of the fresh air, clearing out the smell of sterilized walls and floors from her nose. She exhaled and gave herself a push off the door, walking carefully and slowly out onto the street.  
She barely had a moment to adjust before she was nearly accosted by all of her friends, who seemed rather troubled.  
“Stephanie! Took you long enough to finish in there!” said Stingy.  
Stephanie furrowed her brow.  
“What? Well, of course, they have to take their time helping me. But why’d you say that?”  
“We’ve been waiting for you, Stephanie! We need your help!” said Ziggy.  
“My help? With what?”  
“It’s Sportacus, Stephanie.” Trixie said, her arms crossed. “He’s acting off, and we think he’s not as cured as we thought.”  
Stephanie’s face went white, and a sour feeling twisted in her stomach.  
“He…” She said quietly, swallowing a gulp as she tried to still the fear building in her. “He isn’t?”  
“We think.” Pixel said. “He came down this morning and his arms were covered in bandages. He also seemed really tired and he was lying. Really badly.”  
“W-Well, maybe he just isn’t feeling well? And…tripped while reorganizing his sports equipment?” She suggested weakly.  
“Stephanie,” Trixie said. “We really need you to talk to Robbie. If it’s true that Sportacus is still a werewolf, you’re the only one who can get some additional cures from Robbie.”  
“Me? Why would you think that?”  
“Because you helped stop Sportacus the first time with him!” Stingy said.  
“He tried to lock me in his lair.”  
“So? You still helped him in the long run!” Stingy said.

“Stephanie, I’m sorry, but we really need your help.” Pixel said, stepping forward. “I know you might be feeling a little uncomfortable still about all of this…”  
“Uncomfortable? N-No way! I’m fine, I’m fine…” Stephanie said quickly and nervously.  
Pixel gave her a look, causing Stephanie’s forced smile to fail.  
“…but we’ll be with you when you go to Robbie’s, and we’ll be with you as long as we can. You’re not doing this on your own.”  
Stephanie looked at Pixel and the others uneasily.  
“I…I know and thank you. I also know I shouldn’t be this uneasy and scared…but I am.” She said, running a hand through her hair.  
“It’s okay though. We get it. This is all pretty scary.” Said Trixie, stepping next to Pixel. “But hey! There’s a chance Robbie has already been working on this, which means a cure isn’t far off and this will just be a quick trip. Then we can all sleep easy knowing the werewolf junk is completely over.”  
“But how likely _is_ that?” Stephanie asked.  
“We can’t think about that.” Trixie said. “If we think too much about the negatives, we won’t do anything until it’s too late.”  
“True.”  
“So, can you help us? Will you talk to Robbie?” asked Ziggy.

Stephanie looked up at the sky, watching the sun begin to dip low, signaling the slow end of the day. She bit her lip and nodded, looking back at her friends.  
“Of course. I won’t guarantee he’ll cooperate, but I will at least try.” She said.  
Pixel smiled and patted her back.  
“Thanks Stephanie. I bet this will go fine, and Sportacus will be cured completely in a bit.” He said.  
“I hope you’re right.” Said Stephanie, as the group started their way towards Robbie’s lair.

\--

Time had essentially lost all meaning to Robbie.

So had gravity, a sense of balance, or the plausibility of an outside world.

As he woke slowly, he grumbled lowly and smacked his lips, feeling how dry his lips felt with his near equally dry tongue.

His stomach gurgled unhappily. Had he eaten recently?

He honestly couldn’t remember.

It was then that Robbie realized he was laying upside-down, his arms sprawling over the edge of his work table. The “blanket” draped across his was actually an assortment of notes and print-outs, that immediately jumped ship to the floor as he finally righted himself.

The righting himself part was the bit he quickly regretted as a wave of nausea swept over him and left his head reeling. He made a note to himself that sleeping upside-down was always a terrible idea and made an additional note to figure out how he’d slept upside-down for however long he did without incurring some sort of issue with his limbs or brain.

Robbie groaned and rubbed his eyes, feeling how numb and sore they felt. He blinked and spared a glance at a mirror sitting nearby.

He recoiled. Was _that_ what he looked like when he didn’t sleep for almost a week?

His stomach grumbled once more, reminding him of his goal. He swung his legs over the side of his table, upsetting several stacks of paper and several empty pots of coffee, with the pots falling to the ground with a startling _crash_.

Robbie cringed, peeking at the pool of broken glass now under his table. He made another note to clean it up later, once he’d showered and eaten and, finally, felt like a human being again.

After he’d taken the quickest shower he’d ever taken in his life (mostly due to his concern about potentially falling asleep and slipping in the tub) and gotten a decent meal of bacon, toast, and two donuts he had leftover, Robbie sat back in his spot and chewed passively as he looked over the papers, trying to figure out what he’d been doing for the last few days.

He looked down at a piece of paper with a sketchy drawing of werewolf anatomy.

Oh yeah.

So many days of research, so many days of re-reading and hypothesizing.

All for nothing. He had nothing.

Robbie sighed audibly, his gaze dropping down to his notes as he pushed them aside. As the papers fluttered away, they uncovered an old, opened book. It was open to a section about magical stones.  
“ _Rose quartz…used to heal grave wounds in faeries. Aquamarine…a powerful ingredient for merfolk love potions. Moonstone…_ ” Robbie thought slowly as he read.  
He sighed.  
“ _Has been purported to temporarily control werewolf transformations, however the effectiveness is hotly debated and inconclusive. Pursue such methods with caution._ ”  
He pulled the book close and compared the supposed growth conditions with a map of LazyTown.  
“ _Moonstones of magical caliber grow near water. Still water in particular. There’s a small pond located a mile into the LazyTown forest. Some moonstone might have grown there._ ” He thought, tapping his cheek.  
But that part… “inconclusive”.   
Robbie looked uneasily at the book.  
The last thing he wanted was to get the town, and Sportacus’s, hopes up with a supposed method to control Sportacus’s latent transformations, only for it to fail and put everyone’s lives in danger.

Again.

Robbie groaned and buried his face in his hands.  
Immediately he regretted closing his eyes as he saw a flash of silver teeth and yellow eyes.  
His eyes shot open once more.  
He didn’t have a choice.  
This was his best option.  
But he was terrified.  
“ _Stupid Robbie, stupid plan to turn stupid Sportacow into a dog stupid, stupid, stupid…_ ” He thought angrily, hitting his head as he forced his eyes shut and buried his face into the table. “ _You wouldn’t_ be _here if you hadn’t been so stupid. Now you’ve endangered everyone and you have to gamble on a stupid rock you freaking idiot you big –_ “

Robbie yelped as a loud knock rang throughout his lair.

“Robbie? Robbie!”  
Robbie sat up.  
He knew whose voice that was, but he still lugged himself over to the periscope, lifting it up right outside the entrance to his lair.  
“W-Who is that? Am I imagining things again?” He said louder than he intended.  
“Robbie? It’s me, Stephanie!” said Stephanie.  
Robbie blinked, then slowly frowned.  
“Prove it.”  
Stephanie made a face.  
“What?”  
“You heard me, prove it. I need to make sure you’re real.”  
Stephanie bit her lip and looked back at her friends, who shrugged.  
“Um, okay.” She said, then sang a few bars of the Bing-Bang song.  
Robbie grumbled and nodded.  
“Okay, you’re real. What do you want?”  
“Well…it’s Sportacus. My friends think he’s not cured and might, maybe, still turn into a werewolf. And he’s not telling us, or anyone.” Stephanie said quietly.

Robbie froze, his arms immediately trembling.  
“Ah…okay. And what do you want me to do about it?” He asked nervously.  
“I don’t know, we hoped maybe you had a cure? Another one? The last one worked for a while, but if he really is still transforming, we need something…stronger?” asked Stephanie with a weak look.  
Robbie could feel his heart beating in his ears, sweat dripping down his forehead.  
“W-Well, could you come back later? I’m working on something, but it’s not done. Just, uh, give me another…another week. Yeah, another week. Another week and then hopefully I’ll have a cure.” He asked hopefully.  
“Robbie,” butted Trixie, yanking the periscope away from Stephanie, jerking Robbie to the side. “I don’t think we have another week. When Sportacus came down this morning, he looked like he hadn’t slept in days.”  
“ _Don’t I know that look._ ” Robbie mused to himself darkly.  
“And his arms were covered in bandaged. Bloodied bandages. We think he’s transforming now, so we need your help _now_.” Trixie said, furrowing her brow.

The kids jumped back as the periscope suddenly, and violently, sunk back below the ground.  
“Does…does that mean he’s going to help us?” asked Ziggy quietly.  
Stephanie bit her lip and looked back at the hatch. She walked over and, with a grunt of effort, lifted the lid up.  
Peering down, she glanced into the darkness.  
“Robbie? It’s just me, I’m coming down okay?” said Stephanie.  
“You want us to come with you?” Offered Pixel.  
“I think it might be best if I go alone on this one.” Stephanie said softly as she climbed onto and down the ladder.  
The kids looked at each other before nodding and stepping back.  
Stephanie carefully yet quickly made her way down the ladder. She cringed as she stepped off the ladder and heard something crunch underneath her shoe.  
She lifted her foot and glanced down.  
Sparkling shards…glass?  
“Robbie?” asked Stephanie, looking about carefully.  
The lair, while never the neatest place on the planet, was a complete disaster zone of papers thrown about and dirty plates. Three chalkboards had been pulled down and were covered in equations and figures that Stephanie couldn’t begin to decipher.  
One thing she could determine, however, was that all that work had been thrown out, given the big red x’s covering several of the equations and graphs.  
Worry began to grow in Stephanie’s heart.  
“Robbie? Where are you?” She asked again.

She listened.

Then she heard it, a sound that sounded like…like whimpers.

Stephanie’s eyes widened.  
“Robbie?” She asked again, pinpointing the noise as coming from the disguise tube area. She waded her way through the refuse and walked up the steps, stopping as she finally spotted Robbie.  
He was curled up in a ball, his face buried into his lap, his hands bracing the back of his head.  
Stephanie looked at him sadly.  
“Robbie, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” She asked quietly.  
She flinched and jumped back as Robbie’s gaze shot up towards her. She immediately noticed the deep, dark circles underneath his eyes and how the whites of his eyes were near red. She also noticed how red his face was in general, and how his skin glistened with tears.  
He looked at her with wide eyes frozen with fear and anxiousness.  
“Robbie, have you been sleeping lately?” She asked, creeping closer.  
Robbie’s breaths came in gasps and shudders as he shook his head.  
“Oh Robbie, you know that’s not good for you! Have…have you been working on another cure this whole time?”  
Robbie nodded.  
“Robbie,” Stephanie said, crouching by him and placing a hand on his arm. “why didn’t you just tell us?”

Robbie sniffed and wiped the tears from his face, a shudder escaping him.  
“I wanted to, but I didn’t want to scare all of you. I’ve put you all through enough pain. I’ve put _Sportacus_ through enough pain. I-I didn’t want you all to worry that this wasn’t over. That it might _never_ be over.” He choked between sobs, his body trembling.  
Stephanie looked at him sympathetically as she pulled a handkerchief from her purse.  
“It was scary, but it would’ve been good to know. I know you were trying not to scare us, but now everyone is _really_ worried.” She said softly, offering him the handkerchief.  
“I know that!” snapped Robbie, before his expression softened to remorse. “I-I was just scared. I was scared at the time. The idea that this wasn’t over scared me so badly, I was just hoping I was wrong. But I noticed Sportacus wasn’t getting sleep also, long before you guys came here. I knew it wasn’t over, so I begun looking for another cure.”   
“And…did you? Did you find something?” asked Stephanie hopefully.  
Robbie paused, his expression breaking once more as he cried.  
“No! N-No there’s _nothing_. Nothing in folklore, nothing in magic, nothing in science it’s…it’s _hopeless_. Nothing can cure lycanthropy, he’s _stuck_ like this and it’s all my _fault_ …I…” Robbie sobbed as he buried his face once more in his lap. “…I’m sorry…”  
Stephanie looked at him sadly and, slowly, she hugged Robbie.  
Robbie froze, hesitating, before he eventually returned the hug.  
“It’s okay, Robbie. You didn’t know this would happen, and you’ve been working yourself to death on a cure. I know Sportacus would forgive you. You know that, right?”  
Robbie hiccupped.  
“That stupid blue elf, he’d forgive almost anyone.” He said with a shaky laugh.  
Stephanie chuckled.  
“Well, you are partially not wrong. He’s very forgiving, and I don’t think he’d want you beating yourself up.” She said.  
Robbie wiped away the tears with his cuff, looking down wearily.  
“So don’t beat yourself up, okay? It’ll be okay.” Said Stephanie.  
“He’s transforming though. Already. That’s what your little friends said.” Said Robbie quietly.  
“Yes, well, we _think_ he’s transforming. It’s possible we have more time.” She said weakly.  
“There’s no ‘think’ he’s transforming. There’s just yes or no. And given what you all have said, I’m thinking it’s a yes.” Robbie said darkly, shifting himself into a more comfortable sitting position. “Which means we need to start working quickly, but I’ve run myself into so many dead ends I don’t know where to start.”  
“Well, is there a way we could at least postpone the transformations? Not a cure, but just like…like a delay?” asked Stephanie.  
Robbie laughed sadly.  
“Funny you should ask that. I did find something, but it’s such a farfetched idea it’s like throwing coins into a well and expecting your broken leg to heal.” He said.  
Stephanie frowned.  
“Well, what is it?”  
“Have you heard of moonstone?” He asked.  
“Like rocks from the moon, or something else?” asked Stephanie.  
“Something else. It’s a specific type of stone. Most of it is just normal rock, but some moonstone is supposedly imbued with magical properties. My books say that, according to legend, they had power over werewolf transformations.”  
“They can stop transformations?” asked Stephanie hopefully.  
“I didn’t say that. The book said they supposedly ‘control’ transformations, but I don’t know what that means. It also said, however, that it’s inconclusive. No one knows if it’ll actually work.”

Stephanie’s face fell, her gaze turning down thoughtfully.  
“It’s the best lead I have, but I don’t want to get everyone nice and placated with a stupid magic pebble then have Sportacus transform and wreak havoc all over again. Too many people were hurt last time; I’m not risking that again.” Robbie said.  
Stephanie looked at him sadly.  
“But what other choice do we have? We have to try something, and if your book is right, it might buy us time to look for another cure.” Stephanie said.  
“Pinky, again, it’s all theoretical. Do you really want to risk people’s safety and lives on a fairytale?” asked Robbie seriously.  
Stephanie thought for a moment, weighing her options. She looked over and sighed.  
“Is it any worse than doing nothing and letting Sportacus transform without help?” She asked.  
Robbie paused, grimacing as he fought with Stephanie’s words in his head. After a few minutes he sighed, nodding slowly.  
“You’re right. As crazy as this sounds, we have to try.” Robbie said, standing up. “But if I’m doing this, I don’t want you kids with me.”  
“What? Why not?” asked Stephanie.  
“Have you really forgotten? If this goes wrong, Sportacus will transform into a wolf like usual and that means anyone in his vicinity is in grave danger. I’m not putting anyone else’s lives on the line.” He said, striding over to a box of random gadgets.  
“And have _you_ forgotten that I was able to help you with him last time? You can’t do this on your own!” Stephanie protested.  
“Never again, Stephanie!” Robbie said, frowning angrily. “You nearly got killed last time, and I’m not going to argue this time! I just want to make sure the stone works, okay? So please, just let me do this on my own this time.”  
Stephanie looked at him nervously, her eyes glistening, before she nodded.  
“Fine. But please, Robbie, don’t get yourself killed. I can’t lose a friend.” She said quietly.

Robbie paused, then looked at her with surprise.

“I’m your friend?” He asked quietly.  
Stephanie gave him a surprised look and nodded.  
“Of course! Robbie, everyone cares about you. Please don’t go in alone because you think no one would care if you got hurt.” She pleaded.  
Robbie’s expression softened, his heart lifting ever so slightly. It’d been so long since he’d heard such kind words, and he was struggling with how to react. In the end he settled with a nervous, lop-sided smile.  
“I, uh, thanks, Pinky.” He said.  
Stephanie smiled.  
“And…don’t worry. I’ll be careful. I just want to make sure this stone works on my own before I let anyone else get close. I, um….um, I care about…about all of you too.”  
“I knew that already, Robbie.” Stephanie said.  
“R-Right. Now let’s stop this mushiness, you’re going to make me sick. Yeck.” Robbie said, sticking out his tongue.  
Stephanie laughed.  
“What are you looking for?”  
Robbie lifted up a small device that looked like a flashlight.  
“This. I’ll need this. It’ll keep me safe if Sportacus transforms while I’m with him.” He said, grabbing his backpack.  
“You’re going to see him first?” asked Stephanie.  
“I have to let him know about our plan! He’s the magical one; he might know more about moonstones than we do. We should ask.”  
“Fair enough, but he’s probably in his airship for the day. How will you get to him?” asked Stephanie.  
Robbie stopped.  
“Oh. Right. I, uh, don’t know.” He admitted.  
“We can see if Pixel has something.” Suggested Stephanie with a smile.

“Sounds good.” Robbie said, nodding.  
The two started towards the ladder before stopping.  
“Ladders are too much effort right now.” Robbie said, snapping his fingers.  
Stephanie only had a moment to gasp before the two vanished in a puff of smoke.

The four kids jumped back and nearly fell into the grass as Robbie and Stephanie suddenly appeared right next to them.  
“Geez! What the heck?!” said Trixie as she collected herself.  
“Can we get a little warning next time??” grumbled Stingy as he picked himself off the ground.  
“Sorry, no time for warning! Poodle, where’s Poodle?” asked Robbie.  
“It’s Pixel!” said Pixel, frowning.  
“Whatever! Give me something to get into Sportadork’s airship! It’s an emergency!” Robbie said with a determined look.  
Pixel looked at Stephanie with a confused expression.  
“I’ll explain on the way.” She said.  
Pixel nodded.

“Then, uh, we should go to my house then.” Pixel said, leading the strange group towards his home as the sun was beginning to set.

\--

Robbie looked dubiously at the small metal box in his hand, an invention of Pixel’s.  
“And, uh, you’re sure that this will get me into Sportacus’s airship?” He asked.  
Pixel nodded.  
“As sure as sure can be! Sportacus helped me make this for emergencies, in case his airship gets hijacked again.” He said.  
“Trust me, I won’t be attempting something like that again. One near death experience is enough for me.” Robbie muttered, looking up and gulping at the extreme height he had to scale.  
“And Robbie?” asked Stephanie.  
Robbie looked over.  
“Please, if anything goes wrong, don’t be afraid to bail. We’ll be here if you need us.” She said.  
“I’d prefer that you all hide out at someone’s house but thank you. Trust me, you’ll know if I need you.” Robbie said, laughing uncomfortably. “Now how does this work?”  
“Just attach it to your belt. There should be some clamps on the back.” Pixel explained.  
“Got it.” Said Robbie, the machine clicking around his belt.  
“Now when you get up to the airship, press the top button. That’ll lower the platform underneath his ship. But first, press the side button.”  
“This one?” asked Robbie as he pressed the button.  
He yelped as a claw with a rope attached to it shot out from the side, rocketing up high towards the airship. The group heard a dull _thunk_ as the rope went taught.  
Robbie could only spare one last glance at the kids before he went flying upwards, the rope whirring and hissing as it yanked him up higher.  
Robbie couldn’t help but scream as he was pulled hundreds of feet above the earth, his gaze slipping to the ground for one moment but one moment too long.

His screams were cut off as the rope finally halted, and he swung idly for a moment just inches away from the bottom of the airship.

Gasping, Robbie fought to catch his breath as he could feel his legs quake. He reminded himself to not even dare to look down as he fumbled for the device, finding the top button.  
Giving it a jab, he heard a small beep. His eyes widened as the bottom platform slowly lowered until it was right by his feet.  
Grunting, Robbie swung himself back and forth, his fingers fighting through the air to get a grip on the pole. Once he’d finally gotten ahold of the metal pole, he pressed the side button again which released him from his grapple claw’s hold.  
He spent one second clinging to the pole, breathing in short shallow breaths as he told himself that the platform underneath him wouldn’t suddenly vanish and leave himself careening through the open air.  
His shaking fingers found the top button and he pressed it again, the platform slowly raising him up to the inside of the airship.

Robbie shakily stood to his feet as he looked about, gaping at the sight.  
He had always seen the airship when it was completely immaculate. To see it in such a disarray and destroyed state, with the windows near shattered and the floor covered in deep grooves left behind by clumsy claws, was disorienting to say the least. He shuddered as he kicked aside the splintered remains of a hockey stick, not wanting to think of what caused it to break.  
“Sportacus? Are you here?” asked Robbie uneasily, his gaze turning to the window for a moment.  
The sun had set, and the moon was going to rise soon.  
Robbie gulped down a thick breath.  
“Sportacus?” He asked again, before jumping at the sight of something moving in the shadows.  
“R-Robbie?” asked the person quietly, his form hunched over.  
“Sportacus? I-Is that you?” Robbie asked nervously.  
Sportacus slowly emerged from the shadows, his eyes wide with fear and, just as the kids had said, his arms covered in thick gauze.  
“How did you get up here?” He asked.  
“Pixel’s device. But enough about that, we need to talk.” Robbie said.  
“Bad time. You need to leave. _Now_.” Said Sportacus fearfully, his eyes darting towards the window.  
“I’m not leaving, Sportacus. I was doing some research and I found something that might help you control your transformations. I just needed – “  
“Great. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Please leave.” Sportacus said, searching fruitlessly for a button on the wall.  
“No, we need to talk now. The kids are worried about you Sportacus, and seeing your ship, now I’m really worried too. Look, it’s moonstone, that’s what I read about. There’s a pond a mile out that if we hurry, we can get you some – “  
“No time! Robbie, please, just – “Sportacus begged, before he crumpled to the ground, crying out in agony.  
“Sportacus??” Robbie asked fearfully, running to his side.  
“G-Go! Leave! I-I can’t…” Sportacus said, his plea interrupted as he groaned, his teeth sharpening to points as fur sprouted all over his arms, his gauze unwinding onto the floor.  
“Sportacus, breathe. You can fight this! Just hold it off so we can – “Robbie said, crawling slowly away.

He could feel his blood freeze as Sportacus’s gaze snapped up, the elf’s eyes an inhuman yellow and his lips curled into a snarl. Sportacus’s clawed fingers dug into the floorboards as he growled lowly, his bones snapping and shifting as he stared.  
“S-Sportacus?” asked Robbie as he fumbled for his backpack. “P-Please, you can control this. Remember? I-I-It’s me, Robbie.”  
Sportacus bared his teeth as he backed up, his hands slowly being overtaken by fur as they turned into paws. He howled as he leapt forward, teeth and claws at the ready.  
Robbie gasped in alarm as he finally found his gadget.  
“ _I’m sorry…_ ” He thought, as he shut his eyes and pointed the gadget at Sportacus, the room filling with a blinding blue light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...at least they have a plan, right? It's something?
> 
> But is Robbie alive? What will happen to Sportacus? And will the kids have to sit there all night? Find out next time on Dragonball Z!
> 
> Or not.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Robbie didn’t dare to open his eyes for another minute.

Once he did, however, he only did so slowly.  
The first thing he noticed was that, contrary to what he feared, he wasn’t dead.  
In fact, he was rather miraculously in one piece.  
The second was that Sportacus was laying on the floor, looking rather still.  
Almost too still.  
Spookily still.  
Robbie gulped and crawled forward slowly, looking warily at Sportacus as he crawled to his side. With a shaking arm, he reached towards Sportacus’s neck and pressed two fingers against his neck, feeling for a moment.  
He sighed.  
“ _Good, he’s alive. The device worked as I planned. Which means…_ ” He thought, watching for a moment.  
Sportacus remained still, his breathing far shallower than normal. Robbie listened for the cracking and shifting noises that filled the ship just a moment ago.  
Nothing.  
“ _…his transformation’s been paused. Good, we have a bit more time._ ” Robbie thought, nodding and standing upright.

With Sportacus secured, Robbie began to look around the airship. While he had been there a few times in the past, Robbie was still not completely sure of where everything was located. Admittedly the few times he had been there it was usually during a time of stress or on the exterior, but he still felt he should know the airship better than he did.  
Especially since he was just looking for the navigational controls.  
“Okay, if I were a Sportaloon, how would I pilot this monstrosity?” He said to himself, looking towards the skutla parked near the front.  
He snapped his fingers.  
“Bingo. Airship controls here I come.” He said, strolling towards the pod.  
He paused once he reached it and gotten a good glance at the controls.  
“…You’re kidding. Are those… _manual pedals_?” He gaped.  
He tested them with the tip of his shoe, feeling the pedal shift back and forth.  
Robbie sighed sharply through his nose.  
“Faaaantastic. Great, should’ve guessed that one Robbie.” He muttered to himself.  
“ _Unauthorized personnel detected. Please identify yourself._ ” Spoke the ship’s AI.  
Robbie yelped and jumped, looking about.  
“Who’s there??” He asked.  
“ _Unauthorized personnel detected. Please identify yourself._ ” Repeated the AI.  
Robbie, now realizing what the voice was, cleared his throat and straightened his vest.  
“Uh, Robbie Rotten. And did you _just_ figure out I was here?” He asked.  
“ _Systems were distracted with ensuring defensive protocols in case of Sportacus losing control of his transformations. You are unauthorized to pilot this system._ ” It stated.  
“I didn’t know that an AI could get distracted. Can’t you, I don’t know, run things in the background?”  
“ _You are unauthorized to pilot this system_.”  
“Okay, okay. Look, I get I’m unauthorized, but your, uh, pilot here is in trouble. I have a potential method to control Sportacus’s transformations and I need to get to a pond in LazyTown forest. I get that _I_ can’t get us there, but can _you_ get us to the pond?” Robbie asked.

The ship paused.

“ _Negative._ ” It finally responded.  
Robbie frowned.  
“What? Why not??” He asked.  
“ _You are not a registered user, thus you cannot make requests. My apologies._ ” The AI responded.  
Robbie bit his lip.  
“Right, security protocol. Ugh, okay, looks like we’ll be doing this the hard way.” He said, cringing as he looked over at the comatose Sportacus.  
Frowning, he looked him over and lifted his arm, letting it drop to the ground.  
“Okay, he’s limp. I think that’s good?” said Robbie, cracking his knuckles.  
With a grunt, Robbie grabbed Sportacus’s shoulders. He heaved and gasped, tossing Sportacus over his shoulder, his arms dangling in front of him.  
“Geez Sportadummy! Put on some weight, did you?” Robbie muttered as he shakily stood to his feet.  
He patted as his belt, finding the device and pressing the center button. He nearly toppled over as the platform beneath him lowered, bringing him back underneath the ship. He pressed the side button and reattached the grappling hook to the ship.  
“Sure hope this thing helps me down too.” Robbie mumbled as he shut his eyes and jumped off the platform, sighing in relief as he tautly hung from the ship’s underside.

The kids had at this point sat themselves down in the grass, their gazes occasionally returning to the airship as they tried not to strain their necks. Stephanie looked over nervously at the skyline, watching the moon crawl up into the sky.  
“It’s nighttime. Do you think Sportacus transformed already?” She asked.  
“Probably not. Werewolves only transform when the moon is at its peak, remember?” said Pixel.  
“Well werewolves also don’t just permanently turn into wolves, so maybe Sportacus’s transformations don’t follow traditional rules.” Trixie pointed out.  
“Good point.” Pixel said.  
“Hey guys, I think that’s Robbie up there!” Ziggy said, pointing upwards.  
The kids scrambled to their feet and skittered away, leaving enough room for Robbie to lower safely back to earth, with Sportacus still over his shoulder.  
“Robbie! You’re okay!” Stephanie said with a smile.  
“How’s Sportacus? Why isn’t he moving?” asked Stingy worriedly.  
“Did he have a sugar meltdown?” asked Ziggy.  
“Not exactly. I made a little stun device, so he’s fine, just in stasis. He’ll be moving again in another hour, so I have to hurry.” Robbie said, turning and walking towards the forest.  
“We’ll come with you!” suggested Trixie.  
“Nope. You rugrats are going home right now.” Robbie said, not turning around.  
“What? No! We won’t let you go alone!” Ziggy protested.  
“Guys, we really shouldn’t – “Stephanie started.  
“Yeah, stop being an idiot Robbie and let us tag along!” Trixie agreed.  
Robbie groaned and shook his head.  
“How many times do I have to say this? The answer is no! Look,” He said, turning around and pointing sternly at Sportacus.  
The kids flinched, looking uneasily at their hero. They immediately noticed the claws that adorned his fingertips and the black fur growing on his arms, as well as the tips of his hair now stained black.  
“as soon as the stasis beam wears off, he’ll keep transforming. And judging from how far he already is, we won’t have much time to run if he’s more animal than Sportadork at that time. If you think I’ll just happily let you tag along given that if this stupid rock fails you all could be appetizers, then you’d better think again. Now turn around and march on home!”  
“We really should listen to Robbie guys. Come on, let’s go.” Stephanie said softly.  
The kids looked at each other, all frowning disapprovingly. Eventually they nodded and started hiking their way back.  
Stephanie was the only one to stop, even momentarily. She looked back at Robbie.  
“Be careful, okay? And call me once Sportacus is okay.” She asked.  
Robbie gave her a small smile and nodded, before he continued walking.  
“Come on, Stephanie! We can have a sleepover at my house!” suggested Pixel.  
Stephanie then ran to catch up with her friends.

“Alright, it’s just you and me again.” Robbie sighed, adjusting Sportacus’s body to keep him stable.  
He glanced briefly at Sportacus.  
He still laid limply over his shoulder, the tips of his boots bouncing against his back.  
Robbie nodded and kept walking.  
He carried Sportacus towards the forest and, after several minutes, the two reached the tree line. Robbie glanced at the trees, looking nervously at how dark the forest was just a few feet in. He couldn’t see anything, and soon began to think about getting lost.  
“I have a compass. Remember Robbie, use the compass.” He told himself, digging said compass out of his backpack.  
He glanced down at it and thought over his notes.  
“If my maps are right, the pond is a mile ahead to the east.” He said thoughtfully, closing the lid on the compass.  
He sighed nervously and took his first step forward, a stick crunching under his shoe.  
He hesitated, looking about the dark woods. He could hear things rustle above him and near him, and an owl hooting off in the distance.  
He looked back over at Sportacus and chuckled quietly.  
“I can only imagine it. If you were awake and, you know, not turning into a werewolf, you’d probably be talking to me right now. What, you’d be like, ‘no worries Robbie! As long as we stick together and be careful, we can handle anything!’” He said to himself, mimicking Sportacus’s voice.  
He laughed and shook his head, keeping a steady pace as he walked.  
“Always optimistic. Even though there’s gosh knows what in these woods. Weasels…bugs…bears…wolves…pumas…” He said, his smile slowly evaporating.  
He gulped as he heard something else rustle in the distance.  
“You know, maybe I’ll try the optimistic thing too. Seems to work for you. We’ll be fine! We’ll be great! Yeah!” Robbie said, forcing a grin.  
He heard another rustle, and his grin wobbled.  
“Yeah! I…can’t do this. But I have to! And…hoo boy.” Robbie said, sighing as his smile finally failed.  
He looked back over at Sportacus.  
“How do you stay so brave?” He asked quietly.  
Sportacus, of course, remained silent.  
Robbie’s lips thinned, and he sighed.  
He looked up ahead and spotted a rock a few feet ahead.  
“I need a break. Here, I’ll lay you by the rock.” He said.

Robbie laid Sportacus in a sitting position on the front side of the rock, making sure to prop him so he wouldn’t topple over or fall forward. He at one point attempted to tilt his head up (he knew how letting your head fall forward too long resulted in a sore neck), but after his lack of success he let Sportacus be. He crawled atop the car-sized rock and sat there for a moment, catching his breath and taking occasional swigs from his emergency cola bottle.  
He froze as he heard a short, near silent grumble from Sportacus. His attention snapped over and he watched him closely.  
Much to his relief, Sportacus remained still.  
“Hmm, you know, I should’ve thought of this back before this whole mess. This is WAY easier than trying to turn you into a terrier.” Robbie mused with a short laugh.  
His laugh faded as he remembered why they were there, and his smile vanished as well at the memory.  
“You know, I never really apologized. I know you forgave me back at the hospital, but I never really apologized.” He said.  
He sighed as he paused, as if he expected a response from Sportacus.  
“So, uh…I’m not really good at this, but I need to say it. I’m so…sorrr….sorreh…” Robbie started, feeling the words catch in his throat.  
He pounded his chest and coughed harshly.  
“I’m sorry.” He finally said. “I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for putting the town in such danger. I’m sorry for permanently messing up your life. I’m sorry for hurting you. Just…I’m sorry for everything that’s happened lately.”  
He leaned back onto his hands and looked up at the sky. He chuckled quietly as he thought for a moment.  
“I don’t know if I should say this, but what the heck. I’m…pretty sure you aren’t listening. Right? You’re not listening?” He asked, looking back over at Sportacus.  
Sportacus said nothing.  
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Robbie said, looking back up. “I…I know we’ve always had our differences. I mean that’s clear as your blasted crystal. I’m a super handsome, brilliant evil genius, and you’re…well a flippity superhero. Night and day, you and I. And maybe that’s why I disliked you so badly. We’re almost the antithesis of each other.”  
Robbie paused, looking down remorsefully.  
“But…you know, I would never want to inflict _this_ much pain onto you. When I realized what was going on, I was horrified. I…I _hated_ myself. I still do, for what I did to you. Because…well…well I mean…” Robbie started, chewing on his lip.  
“ _Oh what the heck._ ”  
“…I don’t _hate_ you. Not really. You annoy me but…but I guess you…kind of…you’re not bad. Yeah. You’re not bad.” He said.  
He could feel something thick at the back of his throat, something that also wanted to be said. But he ignored it.  
“Yeah…you’re not bad at all. Pretty…pretty cool.” Robbie continued quietly.  
He paused.  
“I’ll stop there.” He said, looking down sheepishly.  
He looked back at Sportacus briefly.  
“Gods I’m glad you’re unconscious.” He said to himself in a near whisper.

He continued to sit there, sipping down the cola. He watched the stars and the moon, admiring the beauty of the night. With all his time spent locked up in his lair, he didn’t often enjoy the loveliness of the late-night sky. He often forgot how beautiful it was.  
He checked his watch.  
He had about another half an hour before the stasis would completely wear off.  
“ _I can wait a few more minutes. I should be only a little while off from the pond._ ” He said, feeling his eyelids grow heavy and his mind grow fuzzy.  
He laid against the rock and stared up at the sky, his eyelids fluttering, before finally closing.  
…  
He heard something rustle in the bushes.  
Immediately Robbie sat upright.  
He looked about nervously, looking for the source of the noise.  
The bushes fell silent once more.  
Robbie’s gaze froze upon one specific bush and held there for a moment.  
As he waited, he gulped.  
“I think we should get going, Sportacus.” He said, slipping down the rock.  
With another grunt, he lifted Sportacus back over his shoulder and started hiking back eastbound.

As he did, he missed the slight glow of a pair of eyes in the bush he’d been staring at.

\--

While Robbie was already prepared to find a small pond, he didn’t expect it to be as small as it was.

The pool looked no bigger than the size of a pillow. In fact, he was dubious to the idea of it even _being_ a pond. The size seemed more appropriate to a puddle than a pond.  
As he approached, however, he gawked at the depth of the pond, which he couldn’t even see the bottom of. He dropped a small pebble into it and watched as the pebble sunk for what seemed like forever.  
“Alright, so _that’s_ why it’s considered a pond.” He said in quiet awe.  
Laying Sportacus down in an open patch of grass, Robbie looked about at the pond’s surroundings.  
“Okay, if I were a rock containing a magic moonstone deposit, where would I be?” He said, surveying the area.  
He looked back at the pond, noticing in particular how the moon’s beams reflected off the water. His eyes widened as he looked the single beam that bounced off the water’s surface and ran across the grass, ending at a rock the size of a beach ball that seemed to glitter and sparkle.  
“Bingo.” He said, pulling out a miniature pick-axe.  
He went to work tapping at the rock, picking away bits and chunks of the rock as he went along, the outer milky-white shell falling away piece by piece.  
He wiped away a layer of sweat from his forehead as he worked, biting his lip as he tried to more forcefully strike the rock, only to break off a minute amount of rock.  
“Geez, this sucks. That’s why I never liked paleontology. How does anyone do this for a living?” He muttered to himself.

He froze as he heard a low grumble and mutter. He spun around, his face growing white as he watched Sportacus begin to twitch and move, his arm shivering and his face gaining a pained expression.

Cringing, Robbie turned back to the rock and began to hack and whack at the rock at top speed, digging desperately for the innermost parts of the rock.  
“ _Come on, come on, it’s somewhere in there. Please, please, please…_ ” He thought desperately, hacking wildly.  
More of the rock fell apart, and finally, Robbie stopped.  
The inner part of the rock was a shining white, almost like fresh snow. It glittered and glowed in the moonlight, throwing off rainbows and shimmers.  
Robbie gasped in wonder.  
“Ah, so _that’s_ moonstone.” He said softly, looking over at Sportacus.  
Lips thinning, Robbie hauled back and struck the rock harshly, breaking off a piece the size of a prune. It fell to the ground and sparkled like a fallen star.  
Robbie plucked it off the ground and, carefully, chipped a small hole in the top of the stone. Leaving his pickaxe behind, he scrambled over to Sportacus, kneeling at his side.  
Robbie’s face looked gray as he examined Sportacus.  
The elf was now moving, but only barely. He groaned and squirmed, twitching and looking pained.  
“R-Robbie…get away…” He said in a hoarse voice.  
“Shut up, Sportacus. Give me a moment.” Robbie said, pulling out a length of string. He strung the rope through the small hole he carved and pulled it through, the piece of moonstone dangling off the twine.  
He pulled a length far too long for Sportacus and snipped the end, tying a tight knot to finish the necklace.  
“Sportacus, sit up. I need to put this around you.” Robbie said.  
“W-What… _ergh_ , what is that?” Sportacus said, gritting his teeth as his ears became overrun with black fur and curved inwards.  
“Moonstone. It should help you control your transformations.” Robbie said quickly, looping the twine over his neck.  
“I-It…It w -?” Sportacus managed to say before curling into himself, his shirt splitting into pieces.  
“It _should_.” Robbie said quietly, sitting back and watching.  
“W-Why…why are y-y-you just s-sitting… _AUGGHHH_!” Sportacus said, his question cut off as a strained howl escaped his throat and his face slowly pushed out into a muzzle.  
“Because I’m trusting that this moonstone will work. And if not, I’m here to help you get under control.” Robbie said as calmly as he could, even as his face betrayed his horror.  
“R-Robbie, I w-won’t…” Sportacus tried to say, before his voice devolved into garbled yelps and howls.  
Robbie simply frowned, not answering. He pulled his knees close to his chest as he watched Sportacus complete his transformation, flinching at the pained cries and the writhing.

After a few minutes, Sportacus panted and rose onto his paws, his body shaking uncontrollably. He’d grown big enough that the necklace now fit firmly around his neck like a collar.  
“Good, it fits.” Robbie said softly.  
Sportacus’s attention snapped to Robbie, his gaze twisting over to him.  
Robbie sat up straight, unable to hold back his fear.  
Sportacus’s teethed were clenched in a snarl, his eyes glowing a bright yellow.  
“C-Come on Sportacus. Remember? It’s me, Robbie.” Robbie said nervously, uneasily holding his hand out for him.  
Sportacus’s growls grew quiet, but his teeth remained bared.  
Robbie gulped and held his hand out steadily.  
Sportacus crept forward, his snarl slowly vanishing. He leaned forward and sniffed Robbie’s hand, looking it over and sniffing it repeatedly.  
Robbie’s heart beat loudly in his ears.  
Agonizing seconds passed of Sportacus simply sniffing at Robbie’s hand.  
“Come on…” Robbie begged, his hand beginning to tremble.  
Sportacus stopped sniffing.  
Robbie gulped and shut his eyes.

Then, gently, Sportacus bumped Robbie’s palm with his cool, wet nose.

One of Robbie’s eyes quirked open, his pupil falling to meet Sportacus’s gaze. Slowly, Robbie’s other eye joined it.  
Sportacus’s gaze, despite not being his usual eyes, held a gaze that was unmistakably his. It was then that Robbie realized that Sportacus’s eyes had lost their terrifying, yellow glow that they usually held.  
They were blue, like his usual eyes.  
“S-Sportacus?” asked Robbie nervously.  
Sportacus’s tail wagged gently as he continued to look at him.  
Robbie sighed loudly.  
“Oh thank goodness, it worked.” He said before stopping. “Wait, did it? Say something.”  
Sportacus barked.  
“Oh ha ha, really, say something.”  
He barked again.  
“Oh. Okay, so it’s not quite perfect, but at least you aren’t ripping out my throat.” Robbie said with a dark laugh.  
Sportacus’s ears drooped.  
“Oh come on, I was _kidding_ , Sportacus. But really, I’m just glad that more of, you know, _you_ are there.” Robbie said.  
Sportacus’s ears perked up as he sniffed at Robbie once more, this time sniffing at his neck and shirt.  
“H-Hey, yeah that’s my shirt. Yup, y-you don’t need to sniff that.” Robbie said laughing awkwardly.  
Sportacus bumped at Robbie with his muzzle, sending him toppling to the ground.  
“H-Hey! Stop it!” Robbie said as Sportacus bounced around, barking and yipping.  
Robbie let out a rather strained “oomf” as Sportacus placed his large forepaws on his chest, pinning him to the ground as he sniffed and nipped at his shirt.  
“ _Okay, maybe he’s just a little less wild than he was before. Still an improvement, but I would’ve preferred him being less wolf and more Sportacus._ ” Robbie thought to himself, rolling his eyes as Sportacus kept attempting to start a play fight.

Eventually Sportacus realized that Robbie wasn’t wanting to play and backed off, looking at him apologetically. The moonstone around his neck shimmered and let off a flash of rainbow light.  
Sportacus whined quietly and looked at Robbie.  
“I-It’s fine, really. I’m guessing you’re still figuring out a good balance, huh? Still a little too much wolf in you right now?” Robbie said, sitting back up.  
Sportacus looked up and slowly re-approached him.  
“Yeah, it’s no big deal. You’ll get it with practice and time. Come here.” Robbie said, awkwardly scratching his neck.  
Sportacus panted and rolled onto his back, his paws sticking up in the air, his tail wagging wildly.  
“Geez, just like a gigantic dog.” Robbie mumbled and chuckled. Cautiously he leaned over and continued to scratch Sportacus’s neck and even dared to pet his head.  
Sportacus’s tail wagged faster and he licked at Robbie’s hand.  
Robbie smiled and patted his head.  
Suddenly, however, Sportacus froze. He rolled onto his paws and looked out towards some bushes, his ears perking upright. He sniffed at the air and stared intently.  
“Hey, everything okay? What do you see? Er, sense?” Robbie asked, looking over.  
Sportacus continued to sniff before circling around Robbie.  
Robbie looked at him confusedly until Sportacus bumped at his arm, crawling underneath it.  
“Um…okay?” said Robbie.  
Sportacus lowered himself to the ground, his hackles raising, and his paws prepped ahead of him. He looked back at Robbie with an expectant gaze, his pupils darting between him and his fur.  
“Uh, what’s up?” asked Robbie.  
Sportacus gestured again to his fur.  
“You, uh…want me to scratch your back?” asked Robbie uneasily.  
Sportacus growled and gestured to his fur again.  
“Um, I don’t know…” Robbie said, playing with some of Sportacus’s fur in his palms.

As soon as Sportacus felt some of his fur being tugged, he suddenly darted forward, harshly tugging Robbie along for the ride.

Robbie, with an oomph, grunted as his body bounced against the ground.

“SPORTACUS! WHAT THE HECK?!” Robbie cried as he was dragged alongside Sportacus.  
Sportacus didn’t answer back as he sprinted through the brush, his gaze directed at something right in front of him.  
Robbie struggled with the speedily moving ground beneath him as he tried to gain purchase on something solid. He grunted as a prickly branch whacked him in the face, leaving tiny cuts across his forehead. He frowned and glared at Sportacus.  
“SPORTACUS STOP WHATEVER YOU’RE DOING THIS INSTANT!” Robbie shouted, grunting as he pulled himself forward.  
Sportacus only looked back a moment. When he did, however, he reached over and snagged at the fabric near Robbie’s neck. With one swift movement, he tugged Robbie to his left and more securely on his back. Robbie did the rest of the work, scrambling until he was fully atop of Sportacus’s back, riding like a horse.  
Robbie kept his chest flat against Sportacus’s back, his chin dipping into his fur to avoid the swinging branches and bushes they crashed either through or past. The wind rushed past his ears, creating a low whistling sound as Sportacus bounded over streams and ducked under low branches, nearly toppling Robbie over in the process. He froze for a moment as he spotted something to his side, something like a shadow moving through the bushes, its eyes trained upon him and Sportacus.  
Much to his luck, however, the shadow seemed to vanish after a moment or two.  
Once Robbie finally felt the scraping bushes and branches ease up, he dared to lift his head and open his eyes once more. He stopped, watching in awe as the trees passed by at a terrific pace, rushing past at a rate Robbie had never experienced.  
It was strangely exhilarating, and Robbie felt a silly grin cross his face and a stream of chuckles spill forth. He ducked once more as Sportacus passed through another bush, emerging from the forest into the open fields surrounding LazyTown.  
And at that point, rather unceremoniously, Sportacus bucked up and knocked Robbie off his back, letting him tumble to the ground.  
Robbie rolled and lifted himself onto his feet, shooting a glare at Sportacus as he spat out a piece of grass.  
“Sportacus, really? What was that fo – “Robbie started, before he stopped.  
He watched as Sportacus threw his paws down and dipped his muzzle into a patch of thick grass. When he emerged, a rabbit was trapped between his jaws, squeaking and struggling fearfully.  
“…Oh.” Robbie said quietly, watching uneasily as Sportacus carried the rabbit over.  
Robbie cringed as he prepared for Sportacus to make the final, deadly bite. He instead, however, watched with surprise as Sportacus gently laid the rabbit back on the ground, letting it run back into a thicket of tall grass.  
“…Well, at least you didn’t kill it this time.” Robbie said, watching.

Seeming satisfied with his short hunt, Sportacus looked about, sniffing at the air. He froze once he looked at another thicket, his front paw lifting.  
“I think you’ve traumatized enough rabbits for the evening, Sportacus.” Robbie said with a smirk.  
Sportacus ignored Robbie and crawled on his belly towards the thicket, his tail hanging low to the ground. He waited, coiling his energy into his back legs, his eyes trained on the grasses.  
Then, suddenly, Sportacus leapt up into the air and crashed into the thicket with a _thud_.  
And with his landing came a flood of fireflies which swarmed up into the air and lit up the sky in pale gold and green.  
Robbie sat back and stared in awe, watching the twinkling, Christmas light-like bugs flit and flutter about, some circling around his head.  
Sportacus looked back and watched expectantly, his tail wagging slowly.  
Robbie looked over and nodded slowly, a silly half-smile crossing his face.  
“This…this is nice. This is actually pretty, Sportacus.” He said softly.  
Sportacus’s tail wagged faster as he eyed another thicket. He crouched down and leapt into that one, sending another cloud of fireflies up into the air. He leapt about, thicket to thicket, sending flurries of fireflies up into the sky and floating gently through the air. Robbie looked about and sighed quietly, a quiet laugh escaping him.  
“ _This might be the most peaceful scene I’ve ever seen._ ” He thought as he laid back in the grass, tucking his arms behind his head.  
He stared up at the sky, twinkling both with stars and fireflies, with only the occasional cloud passing by and covering the moon momentarily.  
His view was otherwise only obscured by Sportacus, who had walked back over and was now staring at Robbie curiously.  
“If you’re planning to eat me, can it wait a moment? I’m finally relaxing for the first time in over a week.” Robbie stated, closing his eyes.

At first, Robbie figured that Sportacus had walked away, given that he could heard the crunching of grass at his side.

His eyes shot open, however, once he heard the crunching right above his head, before a louder _thump_ behind him.

He sat up and looked behind him, him growing less shocked and more relaxed as he realized that Sportacus had laid down behind him, and was looking at him quietly.  
Robbie looked away for a moment, chuckling as he looked back and gently petted Sportacus’s head.  
Sportacus wagged his tail and bumped Robbie’s arm with his nose, gently leading him back towards him.  
Robbie let himself be led until his lower back was brushing against Sportacus’s fur. He looked back behind him and then back at Sportacus.  
Sportacus yawned and laid his head on the ground, licking his chops as he tucked his tail against himself. He glanced up at Robbie and gestured at himself.  
“You sure?” Robbie asked.  
Sportacus sighed tiredly and blinked.  
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Robbie said, as he nervously began to slide down, resting his head against him.  
Once Robbie seemed situated, Sportacus finally closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling peacefully.  
Robbie looked over at Sportacus, unsure of how to feel or react. Should he get up now? This wolf was Sportacus after all, and the two were barely friends, much less at any sort of cuddling stage.  
Robbie’s cheeks became a faint pink color.  
He should really get up.

…

Then again, Sportacus’s fur was warm.  
And comfy.  
Like a pillow.  
“ _Ah heck, I’m too tired. I’ll worry about this in the morning._ ” Robbie thought in spite of himself, as he let his head grow heavy and finally relax against Sportacus.  
He rolled to his side, his face facing Sportacus. The wolf was snoozing calmly and peacefully, his paws tucked near his muzzle.  
Robbie smiled warmly as he yawned, his eyelids fluttering closed.  
“ _Thank goodness. Thank goodness that we can finally rest._ ” He thought, before he finally, blessedly, fell asleep.

\--

The smell.

He’d detected the smell before the intruder had first stepped foot in his woods.

He was immediately suspicious, but kept his patience, instead following along carefully.

He followed until the intruder…intruders had reached the pond.

_His_ pond.

The intruders remained there, and he watched. Until the one intruder began making an incredible amount of noise.

And suddenly, one of the intruders wasn’t there.

Instead there was another.

Another in _his_ territory.

He followed along until the intruders had left the boundaries of his territory, frolicking in the outer fields.

…Who was this other?

Was he friend? Foe? Brother?

…

He’d trespassed in his territory.

Hunted his game.

He was another of _himself_.

“ _Foe._ ”

He would not let this trespasser get off scot free, nor would he let a rival keep his territory so easily.

No, no all of this was _his_ territory.

_His_.

He snarled and bore his teeth.

“ _Foe. Hunt. Fight. **Kill.** ”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, that is another cliffhanger.
> 
> And yes, you'll have to wait and see what happens >:)
> 
> But hopefully the wait won't be as long as last time, I promise it won't. Either way, I hope you all enjoyed this short little trip back to this story AU. The next installment will be the last story for the werewolf AU, and hopefully you'll all enjoy it!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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